Years of Requiem
by SuperShinyShadowUmbreonX
Summary: A requiem is a dirge for the dead. Zoe and Soza are dead, but not physically or literally. Will their requiem end or continue? Death is a frequent visitor in their Years of Requiem. Will they be brought back to life? Will they remain dead? Will they be in between?
1. Chapter 1

_**Requiem Upon Birth**_

* * *

><p>A woman with long, beautiful, flowing silver hair and dark silver eyes walked through double doors. She was guarded and escorted by two, young, armed women walking on either side of her. The escorted woman was wearing a hospital gown.<p>

The two women wore matching dark purple uniforms that resembled suits. They carried rifles pointed down in a non-offensive position. Both women had backup twin handguns to their hips and were out of sight along with their knives for close combat. Their ammunition was also hidden. With the latest in designs, technology, and placement, it was as if the women were just carrying their rifles with no other evidence of hidden weaponry. Their sunglasses concealed their eyes and their identity to others. Their purple combat gloves matched their uniform. They both had long blonde hair in ponytails.

The silver-haired woman sighed, "You two didn't have to come you know," her eyes flashed with concern. She did not know why, but she felt uneasy in the lab they were in. She was afraid for the well beings of the two women on either side of her. They were not only her bodyguards, but they were also her best friends. She tried her best to put up a strong front.

"Don't worry about us, Serena!" The woman to her left assured.

"Yup! If anything bad happens then our twin powers and skills will save us all!" The woman to her right said.

The young women beside Serena, Daisy and Donna, were twin bodyguards who both became professionals early in their life. Daisy had a faded line of a scar across her face that stretched from her left temple down to the right side of her mandible. Donna had a similar scar that mirrored Daisy's—right temple to the left mandible. The scars did nothing to take away from the twins' beauty.

Serena was nineteen and pregnant.

Serena signed a contract about nine months prior to the day of walking through the empty hallway with her friends. She was a modest person who worked for Cipher. She was one of the few people who were not evil and corrupt, but had a positive outlook on the organization she worked for despite its infamous reputation. Daisy and Donna worked for Cipher as bodyguards and were also kind-hearted people with similar positivity.

The contract Serena signed was supposedly a contract for power and fame. Though, knowing Serena, she would never abuse it. She might even be promoted one day to lead Cipher and then work to change Cipher's reputation to a well-respected organization. That contract she signed was one she did not think through properly, nor read properly. She focused so much on her righteous goal that she signed almost unconsciously with the sugary words she was told. That contract was made to agree to create something. Or someone.

A Shadow Human.

Unlike the Shadow Pokémon, a Shadow Human should—by theory—grow up like a regular human being should. A human with powers like a Shadow Pokémon, able to create Shadow Pokémon by will, and control Shadow Pokémon by will regardless of Trainer.

Serena thought she would get married then have the child, the Shadow Child. She agreed to have a child by age Twenty-five, a woman too old would probably cause problems for the child's development and a woman too young may not survive the process. In theory, according to Cipher scientists, the Shadow Child was delicate and needed a very good environment to develop in when he or she is in the womb. Serena always kept up with her healthy lifestyles which was a bonus to the development of the Shadow Child. With her good health, the Shadow Child should have no problem developing in her womb. The consequence of violating the contract was death.

She was planning on having a child anyway. She was a beautiful young woman, intelligent, and people enjoyed her company. Marriage, a child, then raising that child, and living her life as she normally would. Signing the contract would have little impact on her life right? Just a few shots here and there. Just some needles. An easy contract for Serena right?

Wrong.

_She signs the contract and is directed to a room for her to wait in. The room is dark. "H-hey... wha-what's happening?"_

_A voice behind the door responded, "The contract was for you to have a baby by age twenty-five. There was nothing to say on what terms or how."_

_The door opens and then locks. Serena could only make out the ivory hair and purple eyes of a man. _

_There is scuffling. Sounds of resistance. The door locks from the outside. She bangs on the door with her fists._

_"Stop...please!"_

_After an hour, the door opens and the man leaves. Tears stream down Serena's face. She leaves the room after regaining her composure._

Serena still could not believe she was walking down the hallway again. _'A contract is a contract. Damn me...why am I doing this? Oh yeah, the threat of death...and I can't let this child die...' _She rubbed her belly gently.

Two armed men were at the door and asked Daisy and Donna to wait by the doors or leave if they wish. They chose to stay. Serena walked through the double doors. A blonde woman in a lab coat instructed Serena to lie down on the bed next to her. The woman then sat behind a computer and typed in codes to authorize the machine and clicked on a few commands. A machine carefully pierced Serena's womb and injected a purple liquid. Serena flinched at the sting and was instructed to lie down and wait. Serena appeared to grow pale and weak over the time she waited.

"Just relax, dear. Calm down. Do you need a drink?"

A few hours passed and Serena's water broke. The woman in the lab coat quickly called up the medical team waiting nearby and they went to work immediately.

After a long wait, Daisy and Donna heard crying. The baby was born.

The guards let Daisy and Donna through. They cooed in adoration of the baby. The baby had just been washed and confirmed as a boy.

The newborn baby boy had silver-white hair and purple eyes. The baby had stopped crying almost as soon as he started. He was in Serena's arms.

"What would you like to name this baby boy?" A doctor asked.

"Soza..."

"Rest up, honey," the woman in the lab coat said, "You're baby boy will grow up to be a fine young man one day."

Serena laughed weakly, "I-I'm sure..."

Daisy and Donna exchanged looks. Serena was the only person in the room who did not have a grave look on their face. She was not supposed to grow pale and weak after she was injected with the final purple fluid. No one wanted to tell her that her current condition was not in the listed side effects.

But Serena did not notice.

Soza fell asleep. "Daisy, Donna."

"Y-yes?" The twin bodyguards responded.

Serena, despite her pale complexion, had a face full of bright excitement and joy. "We're going to have fun raising the baby together right?" The mother looked at her baby boy and said gently, "Auntie Daisy and Auntie Donna are here, Soza," he awoke and looked at his 'Aunties' and then at his mother, he blinked before falling asleep again.

"Y-yes… lots of fun." Daisy smiled, but was on the verge of tears.

"What's wrong...?"

"It-it's just..." Donna was dangerously close to spilling her tears. She was usually the strongest. Her twin sister held her. "A beautiful moment. Yeah…that's it…"

The electrocardiogram in the room beeped at a falling tempo.

Serena smiled. "I'm really tired..."

_...Beep..._

"Well? Do we have the extra supply of blood?" A doctor whispered.

"No…" The assistant said.

The doctor grabbed the assistant by the collar of his shirt, "Hurry up and find it!"

"B-but we don't have-"

"I'm going to sleep. See you when I wake up?"

The twins simply nodded.

_...Beep..._

"Good night..."

Serena closed her eyes and slept with the most content smile on her face.

The beeping came to a long fermata. It was the only sound in the room for a while.

The twins could not hold their tears back any longer.

* * *

><p>Hours had passed by and the twins were still by their best friend's side as they tended to the sleeping Soza.<p>

A short old man wearing a purple robe with gold outlines walked into the room, he supported himself with a cane. The double doors were opened by two men. The old man was bald and had glasses. His eyes appeared closed, but he navigated himself just fine.

The old man was accompanied by two men. Both men wore what looked like sleeveless black robes over a long sleeve robe. One man wore red underneath the black and the other wore blue. A sash was tied around their waist with their respective color. They both wore black fingerless gloves and black boots. Their hair matched their respective colors. The man in blue had longer hair than the man in red. They both wore sunglasses.

"Oh my..." The old man muttered.

The twins ceased their mourning and immediately kneeled to the old man. Their eyes were still red from crying, but not a stutter was heard. "Grand Master Greevil, Sir." They chanted.

Any medical staff still in the room also kneeled down with their heads bowed.

Greevil waved this off. "No need for that. Serena was a good friend of yours, correct?"

"Yes, Sir." they simultaneously chanted.

"Please, stand up."

They stood at attention.

"What is this child's name?"

"Soza Reinhart, Sir." Daisy responded.

"At ease, please. Are you two able to raise this child? You two are constantly training and working."

The twins shifted to parade rest. This time Donna answered, "Truth to be told, Sir, no, we cannot raise this baby boy."

"Hmmmm..." The Grand Master took a moment to consider his next action, "Very well. I shall raise him. Please feel free to visit Soza whenever you ladies have time. You are always welcome to visit him."

"Thank you, Sir." the twins chanted once again kneeling.

"Very well," Greevil looked up at the men in red and blue, they looked at each other and after a silent argument, the man in blue gently moved Serena's arms aside and picked the sleeping Soza up from the lifeless arms of his mother. "Carry on. Please take the next few days off." Greevil exited the room followed by the two men. Before leaving, the doors were left open and the three men gave a slight bow in respect.

Soza was still sleeping in the arms of the man in blue.

The twins saluted Greevil and dismissed themselves.

* * *

><p>Soza lived a normal life with Greevil. He went to school, had good marks, and played with other children. He was a quiet boy and has never cried since his birth. He was well-behaved, obedient, and never threw a tantrum. He never asked for too much. He watched Saturday morning cartoons and played some video games occasionally.<p>

Greevil raised Soza as if he were his own son. The men in red and blue were known as Eldes and Ardos respectively. Ardos and Eldes were like older brothers to Soza. The two young men were kind and treated Soza well. About once or twice a month, his Aunties came over to visit him. Every summer vacation, Soza would live with his Auntie Donna and Auntie Daisy. Summer was the season when they had the least training and work to do. In the fall, he would move back with Greevil.

Every month, Soza had to have a 'Clinical examination' as Greevil put it. Even during the summer. The appointments only took about forty-five minutes and occasionally longer for other medical regulation humans need.

Soza has had contact with Pokémon once and only one in his regular life being raised by the old man. He pet the Pokémon, but at that moment it suddenly felt like the Pokémon had changed slightly. The Pokémon had not changed physically, but a strange presence—an unseen aura—seemed to resonate. The Pokémon was taken away very abruptly afterword.

* * *

><p><strong>Soza: Age 12<strong>

"Get ready soon. Auntie Donna and Auntie Daisy will be coming over to pick you up in an hour." Greevil said.

"I am already packed and ready to go, Father."

He was not his biological father, but Greevil was the father figure for most of Soza's life.

"Very good!" Greevil praised as he ruffled Soza's hair.

"I will take a shower before I get picked up." Soza informed.

After his shower and another check of his bags, Soza waited quietly at the foot of the stairs and sat down. He heard whispering from the next room over. He had a strange feeling about the conversation. He hid behind the wall and listened to the conversation. If he had the choice to take back this action then he would not be sure what to do.

In the living room, Donna and Daisy had already arrived and were talking with Ardos and Eldes.

"The very first Shadow Human." Ardos said. Soza knew better than to eavesdrop, but he stayed quiet and listened.

"He is the first." Eldes said.

Soza silently shuffled closer.

"Maybe he'll be an essential part of Cipher one day." Daisy added.

"He is proof that humans can contain the power of the Shadows." Donna said.

"A successful experiment. That kid is something else, isn't he?" Ardos said.

They talked about the events from his birth to the current present. About Serena, about what the 'Clinical examinations' really were, about Shadow Pokémon.

Everything.

_'So that is all I am… an experiment… even my Aunties lied to me…'_

Soza's purple eyes widened.

"What..." Soza whispered, but loud enough to be heard.

Ardos, Eldes, Donna, and Daisy turned around quickly and to their surprise, Soza stood nearby with a complexion full of a mix of disbelief and slowly contorting rage.

Ardos broke the silence, "Oh...hey, Kiddo...how much did you-"

"Just enough...I heard just enough..." his voice increased in malice.

Eldes and Daisy were speechless, staring at Soza in worry.

Daisy gulped, "Calm down, Soza, honey,...we're sor-"

Soza was seething in anger and by some strange instinct he put his right hand to his chest.

A purple glow blinked and a purple flash exploded. A Hydreigon appeared next to the enraged Soza after the flash. A very aggressive Hydreigon was glaring at the four adults. The dragon seemed to be in touch with the young boy's emotions.

Hydreigon is a three-headed, dragon-like Pokémon. Hydreigon has six black wings on its back. On Hydreigon's neck is a fuchsia-colored flower-like collar which opens to its head. The main head is a dark blue and its eyes are black with fuchsia pupils. Its hands, also black, harbor a head in each one; these heads are also blue with black eyes. There are small collars on the inside of Hydreigon's hands. On its abdomen are two overall-like fuchsia stripes. Its feet appear atrophied, having no claws or defined soles and two or three small toes. Its tail also sports a fuchsia stripe with a black tuft on the end of it.

Soza looked to his left to see the Hydreigon. Without thinking, he ordered it.

"Destroy them!" He ordered in pure rage.

At the order the Hydreigon roared and blasted the four adults away. They barely managed to escape. A Poké Ball from Ardos' belt fell and rolled until it hit an old man's foot and that old man picked it up. The Hydreigon stopped after the first attack.

"Did I tell you to stop? Keep going! KILL THEM!" He shrieked. Soza was blind to his surroundings. All he could see and focus on was killing the four adults. His so-called "family" had thought of him as an experiment?!

* * *

><p>A girl about eight years old with pink hair in two long ponytails going down a little past her knees was writing on a piece of paper; eagerly taking notes. Her emerald eyes were in deep concentration, her safety goggles were on top of her head. She wore a baby blue, long sleeve minidress-style lab coat with white stripes going down the sides, matching lab boots, black jeans, and pure white gloves. As an admin, she was allowed to make her own custom uniform to distinguish herself from the regular grunts.<p>

Greevil returned the Pokémon that had teleported him into the lab back into its ball.

"Grand Ma-"

"I'm in a hurry, no need for a greeting." Greevil said cutting the pink haired girl off. "I must borrow XD001. Now."

The young girl's eyes grew wide in shock, "B-but, Sir! XD001 isn't ready yet! It will be ready in a few years, but why? For what-"

"Lovrina! Silence! I do not care that XD001 is not complete! It does not matter to me not that you are a prodigy scientist. If you do not bring me XD001 you will be fired and you will be replaced!" Greevil shouted, slamming his cane for an added effect.

"Y-yes, Sir...I apologize for my outburst. Please forgive me." Lovrina bowed, quickly left her lab, and came back a few minutes later with a purple Poké ball with a 'C' on it. "Excuse the wait, Grand Master Greevil, XD001 is in here."

Greevil took the ball and used the Pokémon from earlier to teleport him back.

* * *

><p>Donna, Daisy, Ardos, and Eldes were in a corner. Hydreigon stared them down and opened its mouth readying the final blow. The adults were unconscious.<p>

"Kill them now!"

"Not so fast!"

Just as Hydreigon was about to fire, it was blasted away to the side by something. The house was almost completely in ruin. Dark clouds could be seen below, but they were not storm clouds.

Greevil stood beside a purple and white creature. Its right eye pupil was red and an eye piece-like crest was silver and jagged while the left was a brown eye with a smooth and dark blue eyepiece. There were a mixture of dark blue protruding squares and dark purple protruding spikes. The right foot of the creature had sharper claws than the left. The belly was a swirly mix of dark blue and light purple. Streaks of dark purple looked as if it were smeared starting from the right side of the creature's face all over the creature's usual white body.

"This," Greevil said, "is the incomplete XD001, Shadow Lugia." XD001 roared, "I see that you have heard the secrets we have kept from you since birth," Soza was seething, but he listened on, "Last chance! You have caused too much destruction and you have proven to be unstable. Give up and apologize and all will be forgiven. Or fight and I will be forced to destroy you."

"You're not my father and you killed my mother!"

"She signed a legal contract. She should have known the possible consequences."

"SHUT UP!" Soza screeched. He ordered his Hydreigon to attack.

"Very well. You choose destruction." Greevil concluded. He turned to XD001 and gave a simple order, "Get rid of the Hydreigon and then destroy the boy if I have not by then." XD001 roared and spread its wings to fly straight away to carry out its orders.

XD001 fired a purple beam at Hydreigon; Shadow Blast. The dragon dodged the move and took to the skies to initiate aerial combat.

"Now," Greevil said, turning his head towards Soza, "I may be an old man, but I can still fight." Greevil removed his purple robe and threw it to the ground, he still had a hold of his cane, and he wore a plain white shirt. The old man had some muscles, not too big and not much, but enough to look threatening for an old man. The Grand Master seemed to now open his eyes. They were a wise and sinister looking gold. "Now, come at me boy." He ran forward with surprising speed at such an age and when he was close enough, he hit Soza with his cane across the face. "Afraid to hit an old man?"

Soza rubbed his cheek and threw a punch, but Greevil simply used his cane to redirect the punch to the side. Greevil jabbed Soza with his cane and jumped in the air to strike with his cane again. Soza rolled forward and when Greevil landed, Soza leapt towards him and kicked the old man aside.

The old man recovered almost right before he hit the floor. He ran at Soza with his amazing speed once again and unleashed a flurry of punches, jump kicks, and swings with his cane. Soza deflected every attempt with counter attacks of his own as if he were a fighting expert for years—as if something had been unlocked.

Up above, XD001 and Hydreigon were fighting. They constantly fired attacks from a distance; hitting or missing. XD001 flapped its powerful wings and a storm of Shadow energy formed; Shadow Storm. While XD001 was preoccupied flapping its wings to make a powerful storm to partially camouflage itself, Hydreigon concentrated purple energy from all of its mouths, flew up above XD001 and fired. Before XD001 could react, it was hit clean and crashed down to the hidden island below the clouds. Hydreigon quickly pursued XD001, not wanting to miss a moment to kill the opposing Pokémon. XD001 parted a hole in the dark clouds that was quickly filled back up after Hydreigon pursued downwards.

Soza released a sliver of purple energy at Greevil from his fist as he went for a punch and was just surprised as the old man when he realized what happened. Greevil fell over from the pain but still got up.

"You are able to manipulate Shadow Energy. You are a successful experiment after all. Congratulations, First." Greevil said with a cough.

Soza said nothing as he experimented with his powers, fueled with rage. He roared in his rage and a wave of Shadow Energy crashed into the Grand Master. Soza's nickname, First, fills him with rage as it made him feel even less human.

XD001 gave a weak roar as it struggled to get up. It had crashed with incredible force; enough so that getting up took a great effort. XD001 got up anyway and took to the skies groaning. The incomplete Shadow Pokémon was rammed by a powerful force and was hit by a pulse of energy straight after. Hydreigon roared at XD001 thirsty for a fight. XD001 fired a weak blast of energy that Hydreigon simply rammed through. The multi-headed dragon bit XD001 and tossed it up towards the flying home base with a simple toss.

XD001 weakly, but surely, recovered from the assault with a flap of its wings and had difficulty keeping itself in the air. Despite its strange urge to fight to the death, it landed itself on the flying base panting heavily to rest even for just a bit. Hydreigon quickly flew up to XD001's left side and roared visible sound waves, blasting the incomplete Shadow Pokémon back down to the island. Hydreigon looked down at the island before dark clouds obscured its vision. It fired a purple beam of energy downwards where XD001 fell, snorted, and turned, concluding the opponent to be too weak to continue fighting.

Greevil flipped forward and struck Soza across the face with his fist and cane. Soza grabbed the cane and pulled it towards him to punch the tiny Grand Master as it sent him flying across the room. Greevil hit a wall and landed roughly and was not moving. The old man was still breathing. Hydreigon appeared by Soza's side and Soza ordered his Hydreigon to cause as much destruction as possible around the area. Hydreigon roared and Shadow Energy formed around in a circle and with another roar, the energy scattered around the area in frenzy, the air base, Soza's former home, was the eye of the storm. Soza assisted to the destruction by experimenting with his new-found powers.

Several explosions occurred during the Shadow Storm from a single machine caught and destroyed in the attack; The Dark Cloud Machine. The dark clouds hiding the air base disappeared upon destruction of the machine. Hydreigon flew back beside his master, awaiting further orders. Soza was exhausted. If the data he read about Shadow Pokémon applied to him too then if he became too emotional in a fight then he would have no check over his own powers.

"Come, Shadow Hydreigon, help me look for Greevil, Ardos, Eldes, and my Aunties. When found, kill them and make sure they are dead, understood?" Soza ordered casually. His eyes held no care for his former 'family.' His loyal dragon nodded and proceeded with the search. A few hours passed and Soza called for his Hydreigon to come to him. Soza had found some files and documents from a master data base file cabinet and a black backpack. He put the files and documents neatly in the bag along with the food and water that he could salvage; he zipped the bag up and put the backpack on his back. "They have escaped somehow," Soza climbed on Hydreigon's back, "I do not care where we go, just fly." Hydreigon grunted in response and took to the skies.

* * *

><p>"Frank Taya and Roselina Taya, the heads of my 'Experiment' and the very reason why I am like this. This thing that I am." Soza sat on his bed at the Pyrite Super Grand Hotel. Despite being called a Super Grand Hotel it was just a run-down area and only slightly better than the rest of the town itself. "They live in the Under in House 13. Unlucky. Is this a coincidence? Or is this fate?"<p>

Two weeks had passed since Soza's attack. The boy checked out of the hotel and walked out to the empty night of Pyrite. He touched his heart and his loyal Hydreigon appeared before him in a purple flash. Hydreigon took Soza down to the Under by flying him down the large opening of earth under the bridge leading to the town colosseum.

The Under is an even more so of a run-down pit with concrete and buildings. The Under was cold, dark, and uninviting and was dully lit by some signs. Soza ignores the cold and dark and proceeded to look for House 13. After a few hours of searching he found it. Soza touched the door and the house took an eerie and faint purple glow. The faint purple glow looked like reinforced walls. He knocked.

A man grumbled and shuffled as he went to open the door. He opened the door to see the twelve year old Soza standing in the dark, "You know what time it is? Look, kid, if you need somewhere to stay for a bit you could stay for a while I guess-" he was tackled by a dragon and the twelve year old boy closed the door behind him when he entered. In the dark, it was very hard to see anything; the man's face was not visible to the normal human eyes at this time of the night in the Under. Neither was Soza's. Hydreigon held the man down.

"Does the Taya family live here?" Soza asked.

The man's voice was gruff under his struggle, "Yes, why-"

"You can struggle and scream for as long and as loud as you want. No one will hear you or help you." Soza took out a knife and stabbed the man in the left eye.

The man roared in agony. A woman was shuffling downstairs and a girl could be heard crying. Hydreigon got off of the man and charged at the woman. She was tackled to the ground and Hydreigon played with her flesh. Playfully tugging her skin around as she screamed in absolute agony like her husband. Soza slowly removed the knife from the man's eye and made a light trail going down towards the man's lungs. He barely skimmed his throat and plunged his weapon in again into the man's lungs. Blood stained Soza's hand, but he did not care. Killing this family slowly is all that mattered right now. The man sounded like he was begging and crying for mercy, but it fell on deaf ears and blind eyes. Soza wriggled the knife around inside the man's lungs delicately.

A girl who was crying watched in absolute horror. Her tears flowed down her cheeks as she hugged an egg close to her chest. When Soza finished torturing the man, he threw him to the wall. The man was alive, but barely. The woman was still screaming from her torture. Soza wanted her to be quiet. The boy ordered Hydreigon to stop playing and to throw the woman over to where the man was sputtering blood.

"Shadow Blast." The three-headed dragon obediently spat Shadow Energy at the two bodies. Red decorated the wall in the dark. With a direct hit the screams stopped. Soza spotted the little girl up the stairs. The house was no longer glowing. Soza looked tired. He became too emotional for one night or any other day for that matter.

Soza walked up the stairs to the little girl. Hydreigon flew at her to attack, but Soza held his hand out to stop him and the dragon stopped where he was and waited. The little girl was frozen with fear and she clutched the egg she held a little tighter. The twelve year old boy stared down at the little girl. She looked about five years old. He knelt to her level and extended his arm, the little girl reacted and slapped his hand away. Soza did not seem to react to this and tried again. The girl flinched and opened her eyes in surprise to feel no pain, but her hair being ruffled. "I am sorry you had to witness that. I will not kill you because you have nothing to do with my existence. You are only an innocent bystander and an innocent little girl. What is your name? I am Soza. Soza Reinhart."

"Z-Zoe Taya..." She could see well in the dark. Why?

"Zoe…" Soza paused, "When you grow up, I suppose you will want revenge for the murder of your parents. You may not understand now, but you will." Soza looked at the egg Zoe was holding, "Train hard and when we meet again you will be stronger. That will be the day we battle. Will I hold back? Maybe. Remember that. Farewell, Zoe."

Soza exited the house and took off with his Hydreigon.

The egg in Zoe's arms started to glow. She could see the Pokémon with the fading light.

It was small bird Pokémon with dark blue feathers with patches of red on her chest and forehead, the patch on her forehead having a triangular upper tip. Her wings have wingtips that are elongated, thus making the wings seem configured for speed and maneuverability. The undersides of her wings also have white coloration. She possesses two sharp tail feathers. Her yellow beak is somewhat short, but wide, and her black feet have yellow nails.

She has seen this Pokémon several times before, mostly in her books. "A Taillow?" The bird Pokémon chirped her name in response. "Does Robin sound like a good name to you?" The baby Taillow nuzzled Zoe in response. She took that as a yes.

She hugged Robin lightly, so as not to crush her, and cried. Robin sensed her sorrow and nuzzled her to try to comfort her.

Zoe cried herself to sleep that night.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Please check out and like my Facebook page: ShinyShadowUmbreonX**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Family in this Cold World**_

* * *

><p>Zoe slowly opened her dark blue eyes; her long, sandy-blonde hair and sideswept bang over her right eye still held its eternally curled elegance. She wore a blue sleeping shirt and shorts. Robin chirped a morning chirping of her species' name. Zoe rubbed her eyes, stretched, and yawned.<p>

"Good morning, Robin."

Her Pokémon chirped happily.

The door was still open. Zoe stood up from the floor and went to close the door, but she was stopped by an officer. The police force of the Under had finally arrived.

"A suspicious figure left this area and we are doing an inspection." The officer stated. "Have you seen anyone suspicious lately, little girl? Where are your parents?"

"What does suspicious mean?" Zoe asked innocently.

"A feeling of doubt, especially because something wrong happened and has not been explained." The officer defined, "Now answer the questions I asked you- actually, just get your parents."

"My parents aren't here. They-" She had just realized what she was going to say. Her eyes widened. "He killed them... he..." She was sniffling and her voice cracked as tears streamed down her cheeks. "Mommy... and Daddy are..." Zoe avoided looking to the side to see the blown apart bodies. Robin flew over to her and the crying girl held her Pokémon as she spoke between sobs, "they're dead..." she was crying again and was wailing aloud.

The officers exchanged unsure and worried looks. What will they do with a crying kid? "Um... little girl?"

Zoe looked up still sniffling.

"How old are you?

"F-five..."

"Well, since your parents are...well… gone. You're all alone with no one to take care of you. I'm sorry," the officer hesitated, "but unless you can pay for this home here. You can't live here. The home is not fully paid off."

She started crying again. The officer bit his lip. It was the truth and the truth hurts. His fellow officers called him to huddle for a talk.

"What are we going to do?"

"Could one of us adopt her or find her a caretaker?" Another suggested, "We can't just let throw her future away. She's only five."

The officers talked for a few minutes about what they could do to help the crying child. They came up with the solution to take turns watching over her until they could find a good and trustworthy caretaker who can adopt her.

The officer nodded and he walked towards the little girl again. He crouched down to her level. "Hey, we'll take ca-"

She ran.

"Hey! Wait!"

The officers pursued her. She turned random alleyways, knocked over several trash cans, and threw any trash she could find at the three officers.

Zoe stopped to catch her breath. She had carried a blanket with her. Her tears still streamed down her cheeks. They stopped at an alleyway. "We're on our own now..." Robin nuzzled her, "Mommy and Daddy were about to register me to go to Pokétopia Academy." Zoe said suddenly. "They said I was a fast learner and that I should go to school and live in the dorms there so I wouldn't need to sleep in the Under. They told me I was a fast learner, but even I don't know why. When Mommy and Daddy told me I was a fast learner, gifted, and deserved better than to live with them they had this weird look on their face. What was it called? Regret? But at the same time I saw the love in their eyes. They loved me and I loved them. Mommy and Daddy said that I deserved a better home and future. Away from them and they said I shouldn't become like them and follow their path. They were smart people and worked for these people called Cyfber, or something, as scientists. When I read one of their books about science stuff, I asked what a placebo was. They gave me a placebo the next day. They were also my doctors and gave me a medical exam every few months to check on my health. They headed some sort of project." Robin listened silently.

"I loved Mommy and Daddy and I was not ashamed of them when they told me that they were bad people. I didn't think Mommy and Daddy were bad people. When you were still an egg, Mommy and Daddy gave you to me." Her Taillow nodded, "They told me Pokémon come from eggs, but they wouldn't tell me how and said I wouldn't know until I'm older. When you were still an egg, I always had you with me. We did everything together. When I ate my food, took a bath, went to bed, everything. I took you everywhere and Mommy and Daddy said that we'd be close friends one day." Robin smiled and chirped happily. "I promised Mommy and Daddy that I would visit them from Pokétopia Academy as much as I could and that I would return a stronger person. Mommy and Daddy said I could be a Trainer, Coordinator, Pokéathlete, or whatever I wanted to be. I wanted to be a Trainer. I liked watching those Pokémon battles on TV and at that one town above us." Robin looked up at her. "Want to grow strong with me and help me become a strong Pokémon Trainer?" Her Taillow nodded and chirped happily. "Okay, we'll be a strong team and we'll be strong together and we'll go to Pokétopia one day as students! Promise?" Robin nuzzled her and Zoe hugged her Pokémon.

It was a promise.

* * *

><p><em>"Sir?"<em>

_A man looks down at Zoe, "What do you want?" he spat._

_"Do you have any spare food we could have? We're really hungry..." Robin is on Zoe's shoulder chirping weakly._

_"Get your own food, kid. Fuck off."_

_He kicks her aside. She shrieks in pain and skids across the cold ground from the force of the kick. Robin attacks the man, but he easily swats her away and the man walks away. Robin struggles to get up to attack the man again, but Zoe holds her back and shakes her head. They lie on the cold street together tired and hungry._

* * *

><p><em>"Wing Attack!"<em>

_Robin's wings glow as she strikes her opponent, finishing the battle._

_The girl who Zoe was battling returns her Pokémon and throws the prize money to the ground. Robin retrieves the prize money and gives it to Zoe. Zoe returned her Pokémon in the Poké Ball she bought after saving some money. "Get some rest." The girl runs at Zoe and punches her in the stomach. Zoe is caught by surprise, but she retaliates by pushing the child away. They start fighting and no one bothers at all to stop it. Rules? What rules?_

That was the way it was in the Under. The lack of motivated and law enforcing police meant more crime and fewer people obeying the rules and laws.

Zoe had gotten into several fights before. At first, she did not fight back and ended up on the ground crying. Sometimes her money was stolen; all or some amount. Zoe had learned to fight through the harsh conditions of the Under. Zoe won some fights and she lost some, but she never started any fights. She always fought in self-defense.

* * *

><p><em>Zoe covers her head with her black blanket and covers Robin with a small torn piece of her blanket.<em>

_"Just get some bread." Zoe whispers. Robin nods._

_Zoe rushes into the store and knocks a small aisle over. The old woman in charge of the store limps over to see the problem of the aisle tipping over. "Get back here!" Zoe sprints away and spots Robin flying out with a loaf of bread in a plastic bag. Zoe takes some water bottles and a small backpack then ducks under the old woman and dashes way from under her legs._

_The pair ends up in an alley to catch their breath and eat some bread and drink a bit of water._

_A few weeks later, Zoe and Robin discreetly return the backpack to the store after eating all the bread and drinking all the water they stole._

* * *

><p>Zoe and Robin had wandered, begged, stole, and fought in the streets of the Under for three years. They were tired, dirty, and hungry.<p>

Zoe walked around, not caring where she went. She heard screams of pain ahead of her. Zoe ran over to the sound and Robin flew over. A girl, around the same age as Zoe was fighting a boy. The girl had shoulder-length red hair and dark green eyes. She wore a faded pink dress with black jogging pants. The girl looked familiar to Zoe. _'I remember her!'_ Zoe thought, _'She punched me in the stomach about a year ago. I won that fight too... she was such a bitch...' _Zoe had learned many words in those three years, but she knows how to keep such words to herself.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the girl shriek in pain as she was knocked down by a kick to her side.

"Hey!" Zoe shouted. The boy turned his head towards her, "Leave her alone!"

"What are you gonna do?" The boy questioned angrily.

Zoe spotted a Poké Ball on the boy's side. The homeless girl enlarged a Poké Ball from her belt, "Natalya!"

A Skiploom materialized in front of Zoe. Skiploom is a plant Pokémon and has a round, green body with stubby arms, feet, and tail. It has large, flat ears on the sides of its head, and a yellow bloom on the top of its head. Skiploom has ovoid red eyes with no pupils.

Zoe had obtained her new friend from an abusive Trainer who did not want her anymore. Zoe accepted her and named her Natalya.

The boy tossed his Poké Ball up, "Machop!"

Machop are bipedal, tailed creatures that have gray skin, and three brown ridges on top of its head. They have large red eyes, three thin rib-like stripes on the sides of its chest, and small tails. Its feet seem to have no toes.

"Seismic Toss!" The boy started.

Machop ran towards Natalya and threw her in the air. The Fighting-type then jumped up and took a hold of Natalya.

"Bullet Seed!" Natalya turned to face Machop and opened her mouth. Machop was met with an assault of glowing seeds striking his face. The Pokémon fell to the ground as the Skiploom drifted down slowly. "Now Poison Powder!" Natalya sprinkled purple powder on Machop, who was already showing signs of weakness after the powder took effect.

"Karate Chop!"

"Dodge it and use Tackle!" Natalya tried to move away from the Machop's glowing hand, but it turned around and hit the Grass-type in the face. Natalya quickly got up from the ground and tackled Machop. "Finish this with a Giga Drain!" A green glow briefly flashed around Machop and green orbs made their way to Natalya. Machop collapsed from exhaustion.

The boy returned his Pokémon and ran at Zoe; the fight was not over if one did not want it to be in the Under. Robin flew up in the air as Zoe ran and punched the boy in the face. Street rules here and those are the only rules people play in the Under. Not everyone has the honor that Zoe makes her own personal obligation.

"Natalya! Sleep Powder!"

Robin flew in front of the boy's face which caused the boy to stumble Natalya sprinkled a silver powder on the boy right after Robin flew away. The boy's eyes grew heavy and he fell to the ground asleep.

Zoe walked over to the red-haired girl and offered her hand to her. "Hey, I remember you," Zoe nodded. "I punched ya in the stomach when we were fighting and you won in the end," Unexpectedly, the girl smiled, "you're good at fighting." She took Zoe's hand and she was helped up. "Why'd ya help me though? I was really mean t'you…"

"It's the Under, a lot of things happen. We do what we can to survive in this place and stuff, right?"

"Yeah..." She paused. "My name's Tina Kingsley."

"Zoe Taya."

They walked together for a while. They talked about their homeless lives in the Under. "Wanna join a gang?" Tina asked out of the blue.

"What?!"

Tina looked at her and smiled, "A gang. Fulla kids like us and some big kids too. Kids with no homes. We don't do bad stuff really. So I guess we're not completely homeless. Hell, our name even says we're not all dat bad. It's a weird name too. We just-"

"-do what you can to survive here?"

Tina smiled and nodded. "You don't have ta join if ya don't wanna. You saved me even though I picked a fight with you. I'll keep helping you if you need it though. The offer will always be open. It'll be because we're friends, right?"

Zoe nodded. "Yeah, we're friends." Robin flew on top of Tina's head and chirped. Robin's chirps are no longer tiny and squeaky parts of her species' name. Her chirps are a little deeper, but still high-pitched. The two kids laughed.

"So, wanna join?"

Zoe gave this some thought. A gang sounded pretty intimidating at first. _'I'll trust Tina on this one...'_ She had no where else to go either. "Sure."

"Great! I'll tell Landon! Follow me!"

They went through several alleys and crossed several streets. They arrived at a huge 'hideout' as Tina put it with tires, wood, and tarps of cloth that was all held together surprisingly well. The hideout was in a large spacing that was surprisingly well hidden.

"Cool...a clubhouse…" Zoe awed.

Tina told her to wait and after a few minutes, she emerged from the hideout and Tina told her to follow her again. The inside was dimly lit by some lights. There were several desks, tires, and chairs around. They passed several kids and teenagers along the way. They arrived at the third floor and met with a boy about twelve years old in a chair and he was doodling on a piece of paper with crayons and markers. Some sort of map by the looks of it. The top floor seemed to be his office and room. "Landon, here she is."

The boy called Landon looked up. His hazel eyes spotted Zoe. He had sapphire hair and wore a purple shirt and shorts. "Hi. Landon Ashkenazy." He held out his hand. Zoe shook it.

"Zoe Taya."

"You saved Tina's life, huh?"

"Life? I thought it was just from a further beating."

"That kid she was fighting... I know I didn't meet him, but I know he was from the rival gang. That rival gang is the usual cause of death here in our group."

"Oh..."

Landon smiled, "Don't let that get you down. I'm the leader around here and I care about everyone here. It's my job to try to make sure none of us get killed. We're a family here. I may be twelve but even the big kids respect me. Would you like to join this family?"

"Sure."

"Okay! Tina, escort her to the common room please."

Tina guided Zoe down to the first floor and went behind a curtain to a big area. After a few minutes of waiting, a group of kids and teens gathered. It seemed like she would have been persuaded to join one way or another. Landon came in. "Please welcome our newest member, Zoe Taya. Make her feel welcome and apart of this family. She has saved the life of one of our own." A short applause interrupted, "She saved Tina Kingsley from death by the rival gang. For that I am grateful for and I'm sure you are all too." He turned to face Zoe, "You're part of the family now." Tina smiled. "You'll know everyone here soon. We call ourselves the Tranquil." Landon added. "Welcome."

Zoe smiled. Robin flew around happily. They had found their second family in this cold and cruel world.

* * *

><p>It was night and Zoe was pondering her thoughts in the room she shared with Tina.<p>

_'This is a cold world with cruel people, but in this cold world I have met a group of friends who are my family.'_ She looked over to Robin who was sleeping as well. _'We found a new home and family. We can find happiness here. We're already happy here. Natalya and Darren are happy here too. I wouldn't mind staying here.'_

Darren is a Seedot she had found and caught while she was looking for some possible materials for the Hideout. Seedot is a small brown creature with a gray-colored 'cap' that greatly resembles an acorn, so much so that it can easily startle Pokémon looking for food on the forest floor. It can stick onto trees with the top of its cap, and has a beige colored, mask-like patterning on its face with two beige feet for moving about.

Heavy footsteps could be heard from the outside.

The Tranquil gathered outside. The sound seems like it was something the Tranquil needed to remember. They were met by other kids and teens. Most of their enemies held blunt weapons such as metal bats and golf clubs and a few held sharp items such as knives and broken glass bottles; the Tranquil had weapons like their enemies as well. There were several Pokémon on both sides growling.

"The Nemesis..." Tina muttered.

"That's the rival gang's name?" Zoe asked quietly.

Tina nodded. They went outside to meet the others.

Landon stepped ahead of his group and met with a boy who looked like him. The other boy had hazel eyes as well, but his hair was a ruby red. "Hello, Ricky Ashkenazy."

"Hello, my dear brother." Ricky said sarcastically.

"They're twins." Tina whispered to Zoe.

"You've always had foolish thoughts, Brother, we could have ruled as the most powerful gang in the Under. After Mom and Dad died, you joined the Tranquil and I joined the Nemesis." Ricky said. He chuckled emotionlessly. "At least we're both heads of the gangs."

"You just wanted power and I just wanted a group of friends I could call a family. It's not all about power. Why is this what you are always striving for? We were both depressed after our parents died but the Tranquil took me in. Why didn't you join me? We could have been happy, but we ended up fighting!"

"You just don't understand! We're trying to save you! The Tranquil is only nice by name but do you understand what shit this is causing? Your former leader was a fucking rebel and refused to fight. Gangs like these can't be joined by everyone. There's a reason people join and you know it." Ricky spat.

"We don't have to fight for their entertainment! We don't need to! If we just refuse then we can band together to find a solution!"

"At the very least we could have fought and they would not have cared. No one had to die. Only leaders have unlocked their potential. We all know what is happening, but I sense one of you does not. Tell your new member soon so she won't be out of the loop. She has potential. You do too and you waste it. She has a fool of a leader. Brother...if killing is what it takes to teach you all a lesson then so be it!"

Ricky ordered the members of the Nemesis to attack. Everyone jumped into action. Everywhere around Zoe, there was fighting whether it be with Pokémon or people, there was fighting. There are some questions yet to be answered, but she has to join the fight. Tina rushed into battle with her Pokémon and Zoe had no choice as a boy headed towards her with a knife in hand. Zoe sidestepped out of the way and gave the boy an elbow to the face. In shock, the boy dropped his weapon. Zoe recognized him as the boy she fought months ago. The boy got up but Zoe knocked him out with a kick to the head. Robin engaged herself into fighting some Pokémon and Natalya and Darren let themselves out of their Poké Balls to fight as well.

The fighting lasted about two hours before the Nemesis ran away by Ricky's orders. Landon had several cuts and bruises, but he was fine. A few dead bodies both human and Pokémon from the Nemesis and Tranquil lie on the ground. Robin came up beside Zoe and the sandy-blonde girl sighed in relief. At least her best friend did not die while they were separated.

She saw several kids and teens from either side take the most injured of their people and Pokémon away to be treated. Everyone alive was checked and treated for injuries. Tina sat down beside Zoe smiling. She only suffered several cuts and had several bandages on. Zoe suffered no injuries, but she was just as exhausted. She went back to her room after she was checked over.

"Ya really are a good fighter!" Tina complimented.

Zoe smiled weakly, nodded in acknowledgment to her compliment, and collapsed on her pillow. She was sore and wanted to sleep. "Good night. I'm really sore." Natalya and Darren were back in their Poké Balls. Robin rested beside Zoe.

Tina laughed lightly. "Sorry. G'night."

* * *

><p><strong>Soza: Age 15<strong>

The silver-haired teen was still in Orre and rested at the Outskirt Stand. The Outskirt Stand is a lonely gasoline stand and diner in the southeastern desert in the Orre region. The stand itself is made out of a broken-down locomotive engine. The machinery of the stand still works, with the steam engine providing electricity to the appliances inside.

Inside of the engine is a small bar and restaurant that also serves as a convenience store. Weary travelers can rest and sip cool drinks while listening to the radio or jukebox. There is also a television, often showing the news.

Soza sat in the back table looking over the documents having to do with his experiment.

"A mysterious figure has been reported to have left the Under. No one knows of his or her identity or what Pokémon they used to fly on." Soza looked up at the television, "In other news, a girl has become homeless after she reported this mysterious figure to have murdered her parents and she has been missing for about three years now. She ran away and has not been found. A gang fight has once again been reported in The Under leaving several dead bodies of Pokémon and children."

"They repeat a lot of things, don't they? Nothing really happens around here. They just bring back some stories that were interesting to people."Soza mumbled to himself. He looked back down at the documents. Within the three years after he met Zoe, he has only murdered two people from his experiment. Zoe's parents. There are a few more he needs to kill. The team was rather small.

"Hello." A man with dark hair and eyes greeted.

"Hello." Soza nodded.

"May I sit here? I don't want to dine alone. It's livelier with other people."

Soza looked around the dining area and all seats were filled. "Sure. I guess."

"What are you reading?"

"None of your business."

The man held his hands up in front of him in a mock surrender. "Sorry, didn't mean to offend ya."

"Whatever."

"Waitress!" The man gently called.

A young teenage girl walked over to the table. She had green eyes and orange hair. She wore a pink dress; her waitress uniform. "Hello! Oh! Jay!"

"Hello, Stacy! May I have my order taken?"

"Yes of course. What will you have?"

"A sandwich and some hot coffee please."

"Sure!"

"What would you like? My treat for botherin' ya."

Soza gave the man a strange look. He sighed and accepted his offer. It is free food and refreshment after all. "Lunch special." He mumbled.

"Okay! What drink would you like?" The peppy waitress asked.

"Strawberry Shuckle Soda."

"Okay! I'll be back with your orders in a jiffy!"

_'Jiffy? What kind of teenager in today says jiffy? Or anyone really? She must have been sheltered or have some weird friends. Older customers must be common.'_

"This diner is a friendly place, don't cha think?"

"I guess. This is my first time here." Soza said.

"I've been here and became a regular customer."

"Uh-huh."

"Ah!" The man laughed, "I forgot my manners! My name isn't Jay. Jay is my nickname. My real name is-"

"Here's your order!" Stacy said. _'Why is she so damn peppy? And how does she cook so fast? A peppy and young female waitress helps sell I guess.'_ She placed down a sandwich and coffee for the man and soda and larger sandwich for Soza. _'I guess you don't need to cook a sandwich. Anything inside doesn't take long either probably.'_

"Thank you." Soza said politely. The food looks good.

"Who's your friend, Jay?" The waitress asked, "He's cute- oops!" She blushed. "Did I say that out loud?" She whispered behind her metal tray.

"Soza." Soza mumbled. _'Why am I with these people? She needs to get out more.'_

The man laughed heartily and elbowed Soza's ribs lightly. "She's interested in you. Give her a shot eh?"

"I'm-I'm Stacy Shine..." The waitress murmured as her blush deepened and she scuttled away. _'Even her name implies that she's a happy person.'_

"Soza, correct?" Soza nodded. "Jason Earvin. You can call me Jay." Jason had his hand extended.

"Soza Reinhart. Just call me Soza." Soza shook Jason's hand reluctantly and annoyed.

They ate their meals and drank their drinks. "Reinhart. I've heard that name somewhere." Jason said.

Soza was reading the documents again. He spotted a name he recognized.

Jason Earvin. Head of the Technology of Shadow Human Development.

"Let's battle." Soza said suddenly.

"A Pokémon Trainer?" Jason laughed heartily again. "I'm up for a challenge. I only have three Pokémon though."

"That's fine." Soza got up and proceeded to walk outside. He paused and clenched his fists and then proceeded outside. Jason, not noticing, followed.

"Wait!"

Soza turned around saw Stacy sprinting towards him. She was talking in between heavy breathing. "I'm on break... and my boss is watching the... Outskirt Stand for a while... no one is coming so... he said I can take a break while he tends to the customers... are you going to battle?"

Soza nodded.

"Can I watch?"

"I don't care."

Soza and Jason went on opposite sides in front of the Stand. Stacy stood back in the middle. Soza touched his heart and his Hydreigon was by his side in a flash of purple.

"Nifty!" Stacy exclaimed.

"Nice!" Jason complimented. "But let's see if you're as good as your introduction! Magnemite! Let's go!"

Magnemite is a seemingly robotic life form that has a gray, circular metal body with a horseshoe magnet on its left and right sides, and a single big eye. It has three Phillips head screws on its body; two are near the bottom of its body, and the other is on top of its head and looks like an antenna. The two bottom screws serve no noticeable purpose, although they may be its feet as the Pokédex identifies a footprint like that of the screw's "head". Even though Magnemite and its evolved forms are mechanical creatures, they still have emotions, the need to eat, and a way of reproducing.

"Hydreigon, Shadow Storm."

"Magnemite, Thunderbolt!"

Hydreigon roared and a storm of purple energy emerged. Magnemite's Thunderbolt was absorbed into the storm.

"Flamethrower."

Hydreigon spewed fire at Magnemite and it fainted.

"A one hitter! Nice!" Jason complimented. Stacy was cheering for Soza.

Soza nodded. The storm subsided.

Jay returned his fallen Pokémon. "Magneton!"

Magneton is three Magnemite's together to form a triangle. The horseshoe magnets are larger and point in near each Magnemite's eye.

"Shadow Blast."

Hydreigon fired a beam of Shadow Energy at Magneton.

"Another one hitter!" Jason said as he returned his Pokémon. "Last one. Magnezone!"

The center Magnemite of Magneton has grown bigger and more oval-shaped than the other two upon evolution. The middle Magnemite also has a red pupil in its eye instead of a black one and a yellow antenna on top of it. Magnezone as a whole is a darker color gray than its pre-evolutions, surrounded by a thin, metal rim and two dark-gray horse-shoe magnets that are positioned to look like metal claws. There is also a third horse-shoe magnet on the back of the middle Magnemite that is positioned like a tail. Like its pre-evolutions, it floats by using electromagnetic waves.

"Finish this with a Shadow Blast."

"Thunder!"

Magnezone sparked with electricity, but Hydreigon hit the Pokémon with another beam of Shadow Energy.

Stacy jumped up and down happily and Soza touched his heart, returning Hydreigon with a burst of purple.

Jason returned his Pokémon. "It's been some time since I've battled, but you're really talented-"

"Does the term 'Shadow Human' spark your memory of the name Reinhart?"

"I remember…I was the-"

"Head of the Technology of the Development of Shadow Humans."

"Yes…I realized my error and I was wrong-" Before he realized it, Soza was in front of him with streaks of purple shadows straying behind him. He grabbed Jason by the shirt.

"What bullshit are you trying to feed me?! Truth or not what you did is unforgivable. I'm the only one to quickly unleash their potential, correct?"

"There are people in the Outskirt Stand still. Are you really going to finish me here? Like the the Taya couple who headed the experiment? I heard you spared their daughter."

"Of course not. And yes I did. I did not want to kill the child who had nothing to do with my experiment. I admit that I acted too hastily and shortly realized after that I could not kill you. Yet." Soza sent the man flying with a knee to the stomach powered by Shadow Energy. "No real rule of no fighting out here right? Don't worry, I won't kill you. Not yet."

Stacy stepped towards Soza. "Please stop…" She whispered. "Jay is a good man. Please believe me! Maybe he wasn't before but he is now. Don't kill him! He pays for everyone's food sometimes, he helps decorate the Outskirt Stand on holidays, he helps around the dining area and sets up now and then, and my boss even gives him discounts because he's helpful and doesn't ask for anything in return. He's a good friend of ours. Please don't hurt him!"

Soza glared at Stacy. She flinched but her eyes met his. He saw her tears and she showed no sign of lying for Jason's sake, "No promises," he said to Stacy and then turned to Jason, "I still think you're a little shit!"

Jason smiled as he sat up, "If killing me makes you feel better. I guess I deserve it. But if you don't kill me then maybe we can be buddies?"

"…"

"Hehe…um…"

"You're buying me food whenever I come here." Soza stated flatly.

"Alright!" Jason gave a mock salute.

Stacy smiled and gave a small bow, "Come again!"

Soza touched his heart and his Hydreigon appeared in a flash of purple. He mounted his Pokémon and flew off. _'Forgiveness? Is that what humans do? Well, I don't completely trust him…I don't think I can forgive him either. You better be right about him being a good person, Stacy.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: In my opinion this chapter was… meh. Tell what you think so far.**

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**Please Read and Review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Please note that Tina's dialogue is not any error it's just the way she talks. She mixes her own slang and condensed words in her speech.**

* * *

><p><em><strong>Mission<strong>_

* * *

><p>"Take a rest, Darren." Zoe said with a smile. Zoe was satisfied with the morning of training. Robin, after her meal of berries, perched herself on top of Zoe's head chirping happily in thanks after enjoying her meal. "Hi, Robin."<p>

Darren, being a Seedot, happily attached himself to Zoe's homemade "Seedot Nutrition Branch" and was attached in content as he sat with the "branch" on his cap-like head. The branch was made by Zoe herself using the strongest wood she could find in the Under and was shaped like a miniature well-carved log. With a hollow inside she could mix in some stolen berries and water and seal off the branch with a small cork plugged in at the end of the branch.

Natalya and Darren were pale Grass-types. The constant lack of sunlight in the Under gave them less photosynthesis use and therefore having a little less energy than a usual Grass-type Pokémon. Nonetheless, Natalya and Darren battled and trained to the best of their ability and that alone is good enough for Zoe.

"Zoe!"

Zoe and her Pokémon looked over to the source of the distressed voice. Tina was breathing heavily, her eyes were wide with fear.

"Tina? What's the matter?" Zoe asked in concern. Her friend was never like this. She was never afraid.

"Come inside! Hurry! We're on a lock down!"

Without another word Zoe returned her Pokémon back in their Poké Ball; with the exception of Robin who preferred to stay out of her Poké Ball. Robin and Tina helped Zoe hastily put the rest of Zoe's items in her bag and they rushed into the Hideout and through the curtain in the Common Room.

"Sorry we're late, Landon." Tina said between breaths.

Landon nodded with a kind and reassuring smile, "It's alright." He took a moment to look at every kid and teen in the room. He broke the silence, "I see that everyone is here and safe. Did you lock the door you came inside from?"

"Yeah." Tina responded.

"The reason for this lock down is an attack by a Pokémon. A Pokémon with strange behavior."

Murmurs of curiosity broke out. A Pokémon with strange behavior? Surely it is just a Pokémon from the rival gang? Landon confirmed this answer.

No.

The strange Pokémon was definitely not a Pokémon from the Nemesis. If it were it would have tried to attack them without hesitation. This Pokémon hesitated. It was having an internal conflict with itself and was unstable. Its behavior is unpredictable. And that Pokémon was near the Hideout.

The room was silent. The air was filled with tension. "Tina, please tell us what you know."

All eyes were on the girl with red hair.

"Well," Tina started. "I was on mah way back after taking a walk with my Pokémon."

* * *

><p>I returned my downed Pokémon and looked over to Flutters, my Butterfree, who is half the size of normal Butterfree, "Flutters, Absorb!"<p>

_Butterfree resembles a vaguely anthropomorphic butterfly. Unlike true insects, it only has four legs, which are a pale blue color. It has a nose-like structure, which is a similar color. The coloration of a Butterfree's body is a darker purple-blue. It has large veined wings, which are white with black markings. These markings can help distinguish male and female individuals. It has large compound eyes that tend to be a reddish color. Like members of the order Lepidoptera, Butterfree's two pairs of wings are covered in fine scales._

The Pokémon we were fighting was shrouded in the darkness of the Under. It ran straight at us with some sorta grace and taking the Absorb like nothin' happened. This purple glow surrounded it and gave off these feelings like hate an' regret in the air. It waz weird.

Flutters beat her wings weakly in fear up to the point where she was no longer in the air, but standing on the ground shaking fr'm fright.

"Flutters?!" I called out in concern. I ran tow'rds my starter Pokémon. The strange Pokémon was about ta attack, but stopped. It looked like it was having trouble as the purple stuff went on and off, kinda like a light when you play with it-which I don't do when I'm bored. Anyways, I was on my knees as I held Flutters with tears in my eyes. All my Pokémon were afraid when this thing attacked and I couldn't do anything because I was scared too. The Pokémon growled and the purple stuff burst inta energy like a fire. It let out a small roar that filled the air wi'hate again, but also with regret. It lowered its head and kicked up dust like a Tauros, but this thing ain't a Tauros… it's something else. Somethin' else much stronger.

It's like time slowed down. Once its back legs started ta move I hugged Flutters tighter and started backing away. I pushed my legs against da ground and realized that running wou'be better. I got up and ran but I tripped and I landed on my side. I neva noticed how close to the Hideout we were, but I know we didn't move from our battle area.

I returned Flutters to her Poké Ball, got up, and ran to the Hideout. I've neva been so scared in my life. It's presence with that aura was j'st enough.

* * *

><p>Everyone was sitting down as they listened to Tina. Zoe hugged her friend until she stopped shaking from fear.<p>

Zoe stood after comforting her friend. "Alright!" All eyes were now on her. "Let's follow and track this thing!"

A male voice spoke up, "Do you really think it will be that easy?"

"Huh?"

The boy crossed his arms over his chest as he stood up. "Don't get me wrong. I respect you, Zoe, I do, but you should realize that the thing that attacked Tina is stronger than any of us right now."

"Then I'll-"

"-fight it? It's not a regular Pokémon. Even if we all attacked it with our Pokémon it only used one move on Tina and her team to defeat them, scare them, and probably almost kill her. I'm sure a strong Pokémon like that will have more moves. We don't even know what type it is."

Her opinion on what to do wavered after hearing the boy's words, but something inside her stubbornly stuck to her opinion. Pride? "But-"

"Stop. I don't want to hear any of it. If you're so determined then fight me and my Pokémon. You only have three Pokémon, right? I do too. But whoever wins won't matter. If you want to prove a point then let's go."

Tina spoke weakly. "Cesar..."

Landon spoke gently but firmly. "Cesar." He hated to see anyone in the Tranquil fighting amongst each other. "There's no need to-"

Zoe bit her lip and spoke confidently. "No."

The room was silent once again as all eyes fell on the girl with eternal elegant curls and sideswept bang over her right eye.

"I think he's right." Zoe said.

"But having to fight about it?!"

"It's the Under, Landon. You do what you can to survive this place. You also can do pretty much whatever you want. Fighting over something isn't rare. It's pretty much how we settle most things. I might be being stupid, but I have a feeling I have to do this." She smiled fake smile, "Besides, we won't kill each other."

"Are you sure about this?" Cesar asked.

Zoe had a better look at the boy. He had medium length-dark brown hair, light brown eyes, a purple shirt, ripped purple pants, and worn out black shoes.

"You're the one that challenged me."

Landon looked over to Zoe and Cesar. He stood up and sighed. "Alright. We'll go outside to the back of the Hideout."

They proceeded to walk to the back. Some of the medical staff came along to get the injured treated right away while the rest prepared a room for them to rest in. A small audience gathered to watch and walked with Zoe and Cesar with tension in the air. Tina and Landon walked silently.

"No hard feelings?" Cesar asked.

Zoe shook her head, "No, don't worry about it." Robin was silent on Zoe's shoulder. Zoe comforted her Pokémon by scratching her under her beak. Zoe was a little angry, but learned to control her anger and tolerate whatever happens around her through her rough years living on the streets of the Under. She has accepted her way of life. If she had lost her temper in her homeless life she would have been dead. Zoe's pride would not let her back down which could cost her someday. She had to blow off some steam.

When they reached the "backyard" of the Hideout, Zoe and Cesar immediately took their positions at a reasonable distance from each other.

Cesar tossed his Poké Ball in the air, "Spheal!"

Zoe threw her Poké Ball to summon her choice, "Darren! Bullet Seed!"

Immediately after he was out of his Poké Ball, Darren fired glowing orbs at Spheal from where his mouth would be if the Acorn Pokémon had a mouth. The Spheal rolled back from the impact. At his Trainer's command Darren jumped in the air and headed toward Spheal spinning his body rapidly. The Grass-type collided with his opponent with a powerful Rock Smash.

"Rollout and Icy Wind!"

The Water and Ice-type leapt in the air to accelerate his rolling and exhaled chilling air surrounding itself.

"Stop it with a Bullet Seed!"

Darren hit the oncoming Pokémon with Bullet Seed, but to no avail. Once the orbs hit the chilling air they slowed down enough for Rollout to finish the job. The Spheal made contact and the Seedot flew in the air from the attack.

"Finish this with an Ice Beam!"

The cold air around the Clap Pokémon dispersed as he stopped and exhaled to shoot a beam of ice particles. With a wail of his species' name Zoe knew Darren was done and returned him to his Poké Ball.

"It's okay, Darren, you did your best. Take a rest." Zoe tossed out her next Poké Ball, "Natalya!"

Cesar looked at the Cottonweed Pokémon. "Choosing a Pokémon with a quadruple weakness to an Ice-type?"

"Don't underestimate Natalya!"

"This should be interesting. Okay then, Icy Wind!"

"Dodge it and come close with Acrobatics!"

Natalya evaded the exhaled breath of cold air and, with precision and graceful movements, attacked the Clap Pokémon.

"Surround yourself with Icy Wind!" The Water and Ice-type Pokémon surrounded himself with the cold air by a powerful exhale aimed above him. Spheal was encased in a thin dome of ice. "Ready an Ice Beam!"

"You're Pokémon is in ice."

Cesar nodded, "Yes."

Zoe blinked; wondering what Cesar and Spheal were up to. "Break the ice with Seed Bomb!"

The Cottonweed Pokémon's flower spit out three, large, green orbs that exploded on contact with the ice. Within the dust and stray ice particles, an icy-blue beam shot out. Natalya shifted to her left and just managed to get away with a graze. The icy, cold, quadruple effective attack stung Natalya nonetheless as she cried out in pain.

"Natalya? Are you alright?" Zoe asked in concern.

Her Skiploom flew down to Zoe with a smile and determined cry of her native name.

Zoe returned the smile, "Sleep Powder and swoop down for a Mega Drain!"

"Look for her, Spheal!"

Natalya hovered above the Clap Pokémon and puffed her flower as a white-silver powder came out. Spheal's eyes drooped and fell as he surrendered to sleep. Cesar called out to his Pokémon to wake up, but the Water and Ice-type could not hear him. Natalya flew down to Spheal as fast as she could and glowed a healthy green as green orbs made their way over to her from Spheal.

Cesar tried again, "Spheal!"

"Finish this with Acrobatics, Natalya!" Natalya pushed back into the air; reading to strike hard.

Just as Spheal woke up he was met a graceful barrage of flying tackles and kicks. The Clap Pokémon rolled over knocked out. Zoe congratulated her Pokémon as Cesar returned his Pokémon to his Poké Ball muttering his thanks to his Pokémon with a grateful smile.

"Hm. Didn't expect that. Not a lot of Trainers and their Pokémon get past that ice shield defense without a good hit. The ice is thin but powerful and we conditioned it for a long time. You and your Pokémon are pretty good." Cesar complimented.

"Thanks and you're not so bad yourself. Interesting techniques." Zoe said curtly.

"Thank you. On with the battle. Zigzagoon, you're up!"

"Acrobatics!"

"Mimic!"

Zoe bit her lip as the Tinyracoon Pokémon's eyes flashed briefly and proceeded to charge at Natalya with graceful movements and attacks in the air that nearly equaled Natalya's. The two Pokémon exchanged graceful blows. Natalya easily navigated through the air flipping, diving, and descending as she dodged and attacked her opponent. With just as much grace, Zigzagoon leapt, spun, and flipped while simultaneously attacking and dodging. When Zigzagoon nearly touched the ground, the Tinyracoon Pokémon would simply make a graceful spin and launch himself off with a powerful jump. The Cottonweed Pokémon was outdone and sent sailing through the air, temporarily out of control of her flight, by a well-timed flipping kick by the Tinyracoon Pokémon. Natalya took control of her flight by a powerful spin of her flower kicking up some dust before she hit the ground.

"Sleep Powder!" Natalya puffed her flower as it spewed out a white-silver powder.

"Wash it away with Surf and ride the wave!"

"Use Seed Bomb on the Surf!"

Natalya faced her flower at Zigzagoon to ready a Seed Bomb; her flower glowed green. Zigzagoon summoned water particles to form a wave of water and commanded the particles to lift him up on the wave. The water washed the Sleep Powder away and Natalya launched three large orbs of green at the wave. The orbs struck and Zigzagoon's control over the water particles wavered.

"Zigzagoon, time for your Typhoon!"

"What? That's not a-"

Cesar smirked, "It's just a little combination move Zigzagoon and I made up."

Zigzagoon jumped off of the wave. Commanding the water molecules to rush straightforward and rise in height with a jump towards Natalya, Zigzagoon tensed his bristly brown and creamy fur, shook his body, and launched pale green needles up the large wave of water.

"Natalya-"

The wave and Pin Missile needles struck and drowned out Zoe's command. The Skiploom wailed in pain, but looked for her opponent, still able to battle. The water kept pushing on Natalya, causing no harm but slowed her movement and prevented her from going in the air. Right after the first assault Zigzagoon ran at Natalya with a Headbutt, knocking the Flying and Grass-type in the air. Simultaneous with the Headbutt, the water rushed forward with Zigzagoon. The Normal-type Pokémon was not done yet he leapt in the air with his front claws glowing a pale green, slashed his opponent twice, and sent her down with one last Headbutt. The water rushed and slashed with Zigzagoon. The Tinyracoon Pokémon landed roughly, but safely as his Cottonweed Pokémon opponent landed with a hard crash resulting in an undeniable knockout.

Zoe recalled her Pokémon in her Poké Ball and thanked her for her best efforts. She nodded to the small Normal and Flying-type on her shoulder, "Robin. Start off with Supersonic."

With a fierce war cry, at least one for her species, Robin flew in front of Zoe to face her opponent. She opened her beak again to let out a high-pitched screech which was directed towards the Normal-type opponent. The horrid sound waves took effect on Zigzagoon, the sound hit Zigzagoon's eardrums and gave the Pokémon a temporary migraine and temporarily scrambled the Pokémon's hearing ability.

"Zigzagoon, try using Headbutt!"

Struggling to get his head straight, Zigzagoon moved his legs, but made a sudden and sharp turn to his left and struck the side of his head on the ground.

"Robin, Aerial Ace!" The Taillow dove down and increased her speed until she seemed to disappear from the naked eye. Zoe spoke her next command quickly, in sync with her beloved starter's moves. It was time to put some of her own techniques to work. "After your first strike follow it up with Wing Attack!" Zoe said quickly.

"Zig-" But Cesar was too late for the command.

Robin struck Zigzagoon's side sending him up the air. Robin zoomed up and struck the Normal-type down with a glowing wing.

In the fluid motion of Aerial Ace and Wing Attack, Zigzagoon was knocked out.

Cesar returned his Pokémon to his Poké Ball. "You did your best, Zigzagoon. Well, Zoe, that was pretty good. You and Robin have been together for a long time. Me and this guy here have been together for a while too." Enlarging his last Poké Ball, Cesar sent out his last choice, "Go, Mothim!"

Mothim is a moth-like Pokémon with two pairs of wings, one larger than the other is. The wings are primarily tan with an orange, oval marking on each. The tips of the wings split into small, orange squares; there are three on the large pair and two on the small. Mothim has orange eyes with gray, orange-tipped antennae running along the edges before extending and widening above its head. Its body is black with a patch of orange on the underside and a gray stripe down its back. Four gray legs and a small black tail that splits into two squares are also present.

The Moth Pokémon stared down at his opponent fiercely. The TinySwallow Pokémon returned the stare with just as much prowess.

"A Bug-type against my Flying? Strange. I won't underestimate him though. I know better than that."

Cesar smirked, "Good." Mothim stood on the concrete, "Camouflage!"

"Aerial Ace!"

Mothim glowed a brief white light before he was struck with Robin's Aerial Ace. Not a budge.

"Quiver Dance!"

Mothim fluttered in the air gracefully as glowing orbs spun around him. Zoe was at a loss for words. Flying-type moves dealt a lot of damage to Bug-type Pokémon right?

Cesar smirked. "Surprised? Camouflage changes the typing of the user to match the environment. This cement we're on is technically considered a rock. There is limestone in cement after all."

"Then we'll find a way around your strategy. Focus Energy! Follow it with Work Up and Agility!" Robin took a brief moment to close her eyes. She inhaled and opened her eyes, letting out a war cry fit for a Taillow as she flew around in motivated excitement. "Wing Attack!"

The TinySwallow Pokémon flew over to her opponent with her boosted speed with glowing wings.

"Psychic!" Right before a feather could touch the Moth Pokémon a blue aura surrounded Robin as it halted her attack. "Psych Up!" Mothim emitted a faint light as he stared at Robin in a trance-like state. With a swipe of his arm through the air, Cesar gave his next command, "Send her away!" Mothim snapped out of his trance and replaced his dazed look with a serious expression fit for battle. Mothim blasted Robin to Zoe's feet with a powerful finish to his attack.

Zoe smirked. "Robin's not done yet!"

Cesar raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure? I'm sorry, but-"

The Taillow got on her feet and took to the air.

Zoe's smirk widened. "My Robin here is a special to her kind."

"Interesting… let's see it then."

"Gladly. Aerial Ace!"

"Finishing Combo!"

Zoe raised an eyebrow. This guy is a different Trainer.

The Mothim rubbed his wings together and created powerful sound waves surrounding his Moth body. Maintaining the Bug Buzz, the camouflaged Rock-type spun and worked his wings creating a Gust with the Mothim in the center. Mothim executed the two attacks in a swift motion almost in the blink of an eye. The Agility boost copied from Psych Up aided in the speed of execution. Robin was caught in the Gust and as she squawked her name, Mothim released his Gust and directed the sound waves of Bug Buzz at the Taillow and followed up with a quick Hyper Beam. The bug took a few moments rest before he lifted Robin up with Psychic and gently placed her in Zoe arms.

Zoe hugged her Pokémon gently and returned Robin to her Poké Ball, "You did your best. It's okay. Take a good rest."

"That was awesome, Mothim. Take a rest." Cesar said as he returned Mothim to his Poké Ball.

Zoe sighed, "That was-" she acted on her instinct and took a step to her left while grabbing the wrist of her attacker, pulled him towards her, and delivered a punch to his chest. The attacker fell on his bottom. She realized who attacked her, "Cesar? But-"

"You agreed to fight my Pokémon and I."

Tina looked away not wanting to see her friends fight. Especially Zoe, she knew Zoe would not stop until either she or her opponent fell unconscious. Zoe could be a stubborn girl and she knew that.

"Fine." Zoe growled.

Cesar stood up and dusted himself off. He ran at Zoe and avoided her oncoming kick with a quick sidestep. Cesar grabbed her ankle, pulled her towards him, and used his free fist to punch Zoe in the stomach. The little girl gasped as she hit the ground slightly winded.

Nevertheless, Zoe stood up and threw a punch at Cesar which he blocked with his palm. The boy pulled her in again and kneed her in the stomach then kicked her left aside. Zoe broke her fall with her elbows and struggled to stand on her feet. She groaned in pain, but fought it and stood up again. Cesar was already standing next to her and he threw another punch. Zoe brushed his punch off with a swift and well-timed movement of her arm. Copying his earlier movements she gave him a knee to his stomach. The girl wasted no time as she punched Cesar in the right eye.

For twenty minutes the two fought; exchanging blows, dodging punches and kicks, and using each others movements against them. Both children were panting in exhaustion.

Zoe had received a bruised right cheek, scratched up arms, hands, elbows, and legs from reckless contact with the ground. She was aching in pain. Her arms, legs, face, and even fingers screamed. Zoe could have given up and admitted defeat earlier, but she was too stubborn. She was out of breath from the hits to her stomach. Zoe stood up only to fall back down to the ground.

Cesar had attained a black right eye, a bruised right cheek, aching back and chest, and every inch of his limbs grew heavy and felt like they would fall off of his body. Never in his eight years of life had he met such a stubborn person in his life when having to fight someone. He was out of breath; Zoe had punched, kicked, and kneed him in the stomach much more than he had to her. He never expected a girl, let alone one younger than him by a few months, to beat him up so badly.

"H-hey..." Cesar gasped.

Zoe looked up slowly at the boy to acknowledge him.

"You're... you're really stubborn, huh?"

Zoe smirked. "Yup!"

Tina could not help but curve her lips into a small smile. That stubborn girl was her best friend.

Cesar sat down on the concrete and let out a relieved sigh. Zoe attempted to make her way over to him to keep on fighting, but she succumbed to unconsciousness. Tina was already by Zoe's side and the nursing team carried Zoe carefully to tend to her and her Pokémon's injuries with Tina following. Landon and several other members of the gang's medical team helped escort Landon to tend to his and his Pokémon's injuries as well.

* * *

><p>Zoe woke up at around noon. Tina was taking care of her and Cesar. Tina and her Chansey had put a homemade icepack on Zoe's cheek and another on Cesar's black eye. Zoe had a light wrapping of gauze on her arms and legs. When she tried to sit up she groaned in pain and lied back down. Zoe and Cesar's Pokémon were all in their Poké Balls except for Robin, who had her preference for being out of her ball. A member of the gang's nursing team would check Zoe and Cesar occasionally and thank Tina for watching them. The silence was mainly due to Zoe and Cesar's thought of any facial pains from trying to talk.<p>

"So the only type of bandages here are just gauzes?" Zoe asked. No facial pain from talking. So far.

Tina nodded. "Yeah, I guess we only manage to steal gauzes for bandages. I haven't seen regular bandages in a while. They probably think gauzes make us look tougher or something."

Zoe nodded and looked turned her head the pillow towards Cesar, "You're attacks were pretty unique and how do I say it... appealing? Those combos threw me off. It was pretty cool to see that. You seem too put a lot of practice in that with your Pokémon though. How come? I mean it looks nice and is pretty strong, but why?"

"I want to be a Coordinator." Cesar said, his light brown eyes lit up as he responded. "I want to earn the five ribbons to enter the Grand Festival. I want to win the Grand Festival at least once or at least just participate and I'd be happy with that. I mean I'll keep training with my Pokémon to keep my title in that area and compete in other Contests too, but winning just one Grand Festival would be enough. It's my dream.

"To get out of the Under one day and go find a place to compete in Contests or maybe find a way to get to Hoenn or Johto or maybe Pokétopia. I heard they have so many Pokémon related things there in Pokétopia which includes Contests." The two girls stared at him; a little stunned by his passionate response. He used his free hand to rub the back of his head while the other held a bag of ice wrapped in a cloth to the right side of his face. "Sorry about that." He said sheepishly. "You two probably think Coordinating would be more of a girl thing, huh? Regular Pokémon training and battling can be for both boys and girls, but stuff like Coordinating is usually considered more girly, right?"

"I don't think it's for girls specifically. I'm a girl. There are different rules in Contests that can make Contests harder or just as hard as a Pokémon battle." Tina said.

"Yeah, don't worry about what other people tell you. It's your dream and what you want to do." Zoe added.

Cesar smiled in gratitude and nodded. "What do you two want to do? What are your dreams?"

"To become a Pokétopia Academy student and become a great Trainer." Zoe said. "I promised my parents I would return here a stronger person. So believe it or not I'm going to revisit this rundown place after I leave for a few years at Pokétopia Academy. Well, I could visit on vacations. But my true return will be when I'm confident in my strength as a Trainer. I'd like to go on a Pokémon journey too and maybe challenge a League. Typical Trainer talk right?"

"Well, I wanna run a berry farm and become a Pokémon and human Nurse," Tina said, "and even own some Berry Blenders for use of makin' Pokéblock in the Pokémon Center. I'd sell berries, but you two can get berries fer free though, and the Berry Blenders will free use for anyone. People will be buying berries anyway! Pokétopia would be a nice place to start, but Hoenn would be nice too. If you two are goin' count me in!"

"Pokétopia Academy. I heard a bit about that place but I hear that the best usually emerge from that school too. Higher income from beating Trainers, but then again the losing Trainer gets more taken from them." Cesar said. "Can I go with you to Pokétopia Academy? I'll be a great Coordinator afterwards and you can become a great Trainer. And having a Pokémon Nurse with us would be cool. You'll have your name be spread around, Tina, and you'll be famous and you'll run a great berry farm and Center. We'll be an awesome trio!"

Zoe smiled, "Sure. I wouldn't mind the company. We'll get out of this place and make our dreams come true together, right? Promise?" She put her arm out as far as she could without straining herself.

"Promise." Tina said as she easily put her hand on top of Zoe's.

"Promise." Cesar vowed as he reached his hand over as far as he could. He fell over and grunted in pain, but lifted his arm up to place his hand on the promising pile.

Tina scolded Cesar lightly and, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment, returned to his bed. Zoe giggled at the scene as Tina continued to lecture her friend.

"We'll hold true to it then. Always and no matter what?" Zoe said suddenly.

Tina stopped her lecture, to Cesar's relief, and said, "Of course. We'll go to Pokétopia Academy together. It's wha'we we just promised."

"Yeah, you can have no doubt about it." Cesar added.

* * *

><p>Landon and a teenage boy were looking out and watching the strange Pokémon through a small opening of the door. It was lying down in the shadows at a distance away and its identity was still unknown. What type was it? Even if that question was answered it would not help much, but at least it would narrow the results a little.<p>

"We've been here for some time." The teenage boy whispered. "Are we really going to follow this thing once or if it leaves?"

"Someone has to and I don't want to come alone." Landon whispered back, "We are going to follow it. You don't have to come with me if you don't want to. I just wanted company."

"It's alright I'll go with you. Only until four in the morning right?"

"Yeah, after that we'll go. Even if we don't find anything out we have to come back. One of the rare police patrols happen at around 4:30 in the morning. We both have watches, they suck, but we have them and they work fine. We might need to steal a few later on if we can. Mine is dying I think. Solar powered watches in the freaking Under? Are they stupid?" Landon checked his watch, "We have about five more hours."

The creature stood and proceeded to walk away.

A small figure passed by the door and crept a relatively safe distance away from the Pokémon. Whoever was there was also watching the Pokémon and was against the wall until their target walked away

"Who's that?" The teen asked.

"Dunno. Let's get out and we'll get whoever that is. I brought a backpack in case we need to bring anything back."

The two stepped outside and slowly closed the door. They crept up on the small figure and the teenage boy was able to silently, and quickly, cover the person's mouth and successfully capture them. The figure struggled, but stopped when she realized who captured her.

"Landon? And…"

"Tristan." The teenage boy responded.

"What are you doing, Zoe? You should be recovering and away from the thing that attacked Tina." Landon said. They kept their voices as low, but as audible as they could so as not to alert the Pokémon. The trio continued to follow the Pokémon at a safe distance.

"I could say the same for you two, except for the injury recovering part." Zoe retorted.

"She's got a point you know." Tristan commented.

"Aren't you supposed to be on my side? Well… fair enough. We wanted to follow this thing, but stop and return to the Hideout as soon as it's four in the morning. And your reason?"

"I wanted to follow it and return if it gets dangerous."

"Basically you're saying that you're stubborn and adamant about your decision from a few hours ago. You snuck out of that room you were recovering in and-"

"Okay, okay I get it! Sheesh. We're all out here so we may as well do what we came to do. Follow and come back later."

"And start going back at four in the morning regardless of progress."

Zoe sighed in defeat, "Fine…"

A female voice called out, "Suicune, darling?" The woman was surrounded by people dressed in pink. "There you are! Oh, where did you go? Come now, Suicune darling, let's go."

"I believe that was Lady Venus. She loves the color pink." Tristan said.

"No kidding. Even her grunts have to wear pink." Landon added.

"So it was a Suicune." Zoe said to herself. "A Legendary Pokémon here? And with a lady obsessed with the color pink? At least she didn't dye Suicune pink."

"Should we keep following this Suicune thing?"

"You don't know Suicune?" Zoe asked in disbelief.

"No."

"Neither do I." Landon seconded. "You know?"

"Yeah, reading about Legendary Pokémon was one of my favorite things to do a few years back. The book about them was my favorite book." Zoe said.

"You can tell us about it after we're done. We'll keep following as planned." Landon said.

Zoe, Landon, and Tristen followed Lady Venus across the Under. Their journey was not completely silent; the cheery voice of Lady Venus invaded the quiet. Who were they? To have control over Suicune meant that they were powerful, but a group of pink did not seem very intimidating. A group of pink with a cheery woman in the center talking to Suicune looked silly, yet somewhat threatening. Maybe they were so insane that they had hat power to control a legend. Talking casually with a Pokémon of the legends as if it were a newborn Pokémon was not a common sight after all. The group of pink came to a stop. They were going to somehow cross a large, possibly unending, crevice of darkness. Another group of pink grunts met with Lady Venus. The trio halted and took cover behind a house and out of sight. Landon offered to keep look out and find a way to follow the pink group once they crossed.

Zoe paused as she took a look at the house they took cover behind. Her eyes leaked tears and she fell to her already injured knees. Tristan took notice of this and bent down to Zoe's level. "What's wrong?" He asked.

"This house…" Zoe sobbed. She could not control her flow of tears. She kept her voice down still and tried her best to be quiet. "I…" Tristan waited patiently for her to speak. As he waited he looked at the house number.

Thirteen.

"I lived here with Mommy and Daddy." She sniffed. "I want to g-go inside. Please?"

"Hm… I'll tell Landon. You're not going alone. I'll go with you okay?" The girl nodded her approval. He walked over to Landon quietly.

"They're pretty patient to have to stand there as she keeps treating Suicune as a baby Pokémon. Talk, talk, talk… this woman is strange." Landon thought aloud.

"Landon?" The leader jumped but relaxed as he saw Tristan. "What is it?"

"Zoe wants to go into this house here," The teenager said as he gestured to the house, "It was her old home. You want me to look out and you go with her or should I go with her?"

Landon paused. He felt sorry for the girl. "You go. Please give her my condolences."

The older boy nodded and made his way back to the sobbing girl. "We're sorry to hear what happened." The girl managed a whispered 'Thank you' before she gave the teenager a hug. With a light return to her hug they went inside the house.

The floor was still stained with blood that had dried over the months. The bodies had been, thankfully, removed. The girl led the way into the kitchen and spent a few minutes just sitting down in a chair at the dining table. Robin had let herself out and joined Zoe in silence. Tristan stood in silence and in patience. He looked around the kitchen. Dusty. Dirty. Unkempt. Untouched for months since the bodies were taken out and no one bothered to take anything out. Who would care? There were a lot of abandoned homes in the Under. For years she had not returned to her home or was it a lifetime? To Zoe, it probably felt like more than a lifetime. More than she could count. Rusted utensils. Probably moldy food, if any, in the fridge. Robin perched herself on Zoe's right shoulder. The eight year old stood up and fixed her chair in a proper place as if it will be sat on again.

She led the way upstairs, slowly, as she looked around. On the second floor there were only three rooms. The furthest to her right was the bathroom; she had no need or desire to go in there again. Tristan gave her some space and followed. She went through the door in front of her. A small double bed and a closet to the furthest right. She went in the closet. On the left was the clothing of her father. Suits, shirts, pants. Shoes, shorts, and socks were displayed neatly on the floor of the closet. The right side was her mother's clothing. Dresses, shirts, pants, skirts. On the floor of the closet was a neat display of heels, socks, shoes, and a box female accessories. The clothing was dirty, unkempt, and wrinkly, decent enough to wear but still untidy looking. The only well-kept clothes in the closet were the best to wear and they were kept in plastic and in the back of the closet.

For the first time since they entered the house, Tristan spoke, "Would you like to take any with you?"

Zoe shook her head, "Not now, but maybe later."

The girl walked over to the double bed and sat on it for a few minutes before standing up and exiting the room. Tristan closed the door and Zoe went into the last room.

The room was a good-sized room, not too much space, not a lot in it anyway. A bed occupied the left corner of the room; two pillows rested on the bed. Next to the bed was a nightstand and next to that was a bookshelf housing only one large book. A closet was in the right corner of the room. The bed had one untouched item sitting on the pillows.

"Can you take the book with you? It was my favorite." Zoe asked.

"Of course." Tristan responded. He gently grabbed the book from the shelf and dusted it off. Landon had the backpack.

The bed was neatly made and untouched since. The item was a stuffed phoenix-like bird with gold and red being its dominant colors. It also loosely resembles a peacock. It had yellow tail-feathers, a white underside, and green feathers at the tip of its wings. It had a green stripe on its neck, a yellow beak, black rings around its red-iris eyes, and a feathered-crest. On the nightstand was a round, royal sapphire, and very expensive looking locket. She opened it and saw a photo on the right side and an empty left side. She dusted off any dust that collected and she lay on her bed. She put the locket in her pocket. She hugged Robin and her old, yet new stuffed Ho-Oh. She felt something under her pillows. She sat up and found a white box wrapped exquisitely in a faded gold-colored ribbon hidden under her pillows along with a black backpack. She found a folded piece of paper under the tied bow of the box. Zoe carefully slid the paper out from under the ribbon and unfolded it once the paper was free. She unfolded it and read the contents of the paper. She read it over several times. She closed her eyes tight and bit her lip. She did not want to cry. At least not now. She had to hold it. She opened her birthday present that had waited for three years to be opened.

She delicately undid the ribbon and took her time. She was delicate. Gentle. She lifted the lid of the box and saw the contents inside. It had a card the letter said it did and...

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